


Out of Hiding

by EmpireToAshes



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:53:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26650210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmpireToAshes/pseuds/EmpireToAshes
Summary: After season 9 ep 10 Lip tells Fiona to get out. She does and she stays hidden for the next year.
Kudos: 2





	Out of Hiding

**Author's Note:**

> First Shameless fic so I’m not 100% certain on how I want the characters to sound. I’ve only ever written for 2 fandoms, so this is new. Also I hate the name. I couldn't come up with anything
> 
> This is going to be pretty pro Fiona. It just irritates me how they shit on her all the time. I do see where Fiona has done wrong & I’m not saying that I support all of her choices. 
> 
> Also there may be some legal talk & in all reality it may be totally wrong. I did some light research on it, but didnt go too deep. Also the ages may not add up, but just go with me please. It’s late and I just want to write lol
> 
> This fic takes place after season 9 ep 10 where Lip kicks her out (of her own) house. As of right now, that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I’m a newbie to the fandom. Later note I’m a little bit further now and i’m glad that she is getting a break.
> 
> Characters will be added as I write. This will probably be a pretty short fic.

“I want you out of this fucking house.”

That night I slipped out of the house with my bag and some clothes. I sat on the porch smoking for a few before deciding to leave. I headed to the local Walmart to get a cheap burner phone with some minutes. I don’t want to leave Kev and V totally behind, so I wrote them a note and stuck it in their mailbox. I gave them the number to the burner cell and begged them not to tell the kids about it. I bitterly laughed and started down the road not looking back at the house that built me.

**Almost a year later**

“Ms. Gallagher, I am Tom Smith. What can I help you with?” He greeted as he led me into his office. He's a lawyer I found on a bus bench ad and has the greatest results from what I found online. 

“I own a house, but I have not been living in it. My family has though. What are my options for getting them out?” I asked, getting straight to the point. 

“Okay. Let’s start with a few questions. How did the house become under your ownership and is there any sort of legal agreement with the current tenants?”

I pulled out the deed to the house to show him. “It’s actually a family house. That’s where I grew up. My aunt owned it, but left it to one of her sons, my uncle, when she passed. We had a legal lease for awhile, which I always paid. The bank ended up taking it and evicted us. I bought it from the bank. No, there’s no agreement with my family. I did send them a letter asking them to move out shortly after I left or pay rent. It just would've been $500 a month which is the deal I had with my uncle when it was his. I was in the neighborhood after that and noticed that they’re still living in the house. I know they got the letter because when I sent it I made sure it had to be signed for. I do have the proof it was signed for.” I also handed him the copy of the tracking website saying that it’s been delivered and signed.

He takes a moment to look over the documents. “Okay. Can you explain your involvement with the house and why it’s been almost a year since you’ve sent this letter and why you’re deciding to take legal action now?” He questions.

I took a deep breath before answering. “Yes. I’ve lived in that house, before I owned it, all of my life. The first time that I wasn’t a legal resident there was actually a year ago. I had owned an apartment building and lived there. It’s basically been free for all around there. Everybody pitched in for their own share and we helped to carry if somebody couldn’t cover. Almost a year ago I was going through some rough shit. My brother kicked me out of my own house. We never had any legal agreement that they could stay there without me. That night I left and ended up walking into this city. I got my shit together now. I’ve always wanted them out of that house, which is why I sent that letter. It put the return address as a PO box that I have if they wanted to write back. I would’ve been willing to work something out for a little while. They ignored the letter and I’ve never seen them attempting to work anything out. I wanted to wait to get the law involved until I was stable and could afford it.”

He nodded as he processed the information. He typed some on his computer, taking notes is my best guess. I hate the thought of having to take legal action on my own blood, but they left me when I needed help. I learned that blood doesn’t make family.

He looked up from his computer. “Alright. Is there anything else that I need to know about the situation? Or do you have any idea of arguments they would try to throw at us?”

“While I was living in my apartment building they were giving money for the utilities. I didn’t pay them. My sister had to pay them to get them turned back on. I did pay her back about half of what I owed her. I’m willing to pay back the full amount plus a little interest.”

He asked how much I’d be willing to pay to make up for it. “She says that she spent $800 on the bills to get them turned back on. I’m willing to pay $1,500. I’ve already paid $500, so she would be $1,000 ahead. I figure that’s about what interest could be.”

He started to note that down on his computer. “I do have one question though. My brother, who was underaged at the time, was actually the one who gave me the money to buy the house. He’s probably one of the ones living there. Does that make a difference?”

“As long as it’s your name on the deed then that’s all that matters. Besides, he gave the money to you. I think that we could have a strong argument if they get brought up as defense. Say I gave you $20 and you bought several lotto tickets. If you happen to win then I’m not entitled to any of the winnings. You don’t get to reap in the benefits of anything that happens after you give somebody something.” He says as he continues typing. “Well, if he wrote you a check that specifically said it was to buy the house then there’s a small case to be made. I still feel confident in ours though since he was underage and the title is in your name.”

He printed out several sheets of paper and gave them to me to look over. He gave me a sheet that outlines all of the costs and fees involved. I’ll pay him after everything is done with. He also gave me a sheet that outlines the next steps in this process.

“The first sheet is all of the basic fees that are involved in my services. You will not owe payment until after this is all settled. I’ll give you a bill sheet after all of our meetings, that is the sheet that’s under the fees, that will list all of the services that have been added on to your final bills. Those are just for your record to keep up with through this. The rest of the sheets are what I think our next steps should be. This process can change whenever new developments are made, but that gives us a good basic outline. I think that your best option will be eviction. Do you expect that they’ll leave quietly or they’ll want to take it to court?”

They’re South Side Gallaghers. They don’t do anything quietly. I laughed to myself.

“I could see it being a court case. I’m honestly not sure what they could afford, but I think there’s a few lawyers around there who might pick it up pro bono. That’s the family home. We’ve all busted our asses to keep it, so I don’t see this being any different.” I explain to him.

“Do you have any proof that they are still living in the property?”

I shook my head no. “Perfect. I’m going to hire PI’s to get proof that they are still living there. Do you have any idea of who is still living there and if they are minors?”

I tell him that Debbie, Franny, Lip, and Carl are probably still there. At least half of the time. Franny is the only minor involved.

He explains how the eviction process is going to be the best option for us. “Since you do have knowledge of them living in the home and at point they had permission then eviction is the best way. Since they do have strong roots there, I’d suggest giving them 30 days notice is best, but since there is no legal contract you don’t have any legal obligations.”

I nodded. I’ve already decided that eviction with a 30 day notice would be my preferences. At one point we were a strong family. Hell, they were my kids. They didn’t want anything to do with me though, so i don’t want them having anything to do with my house. I’ve had this planned for awhile, which is why I sent that note awhile back, I just wanted to wait until I had enough money. I know this could potentially turn into a costly fight. 

“I’ll give a 30 day eviction notice. I do plan on waiting to get that process started’

He nodded and stood up. “Alright. I’m going to get my PI’s on it later today and then I’ll give you a call. If it so happens that the house is totally empty with no current tenants then you can come back in and we’ll talk about the next steps.” He reached out to shake my hand.

“Awesome. Thank you so much.” i shook his hand and left.

  
  



End file.
